Module 2: The Learning Environment

Introduction
The second module took us straight into the world of the junior teacher. We delved into the physical attributes of an effective classroom and worked with scheduling and timetables.


Setting Up
For this section we looked at what kinds of items we would like in our classrooms. We also explored creating timetables. My timetable was created for the private school where I work. They do not need to follow the publicly funded schools in Ontario government mandates and so it may not work for everyone.

In creating my timetable I decided to focus on what I might use should I secure a full-time position in the school where I am currently an educational aide. This school is a private Jewish day school and thus requires the students take a double curriculum. In a grade five classroom, the morning half of the school day is for Judaic Studies while the afternoon is for General Studies. Each classroom thus has two teachers, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Most teachers teach two grades as the schedule is reversed for each grade, allowing a teacher to for example teach grade four general studies in the morning, and grade five general studies in the afternoon. Subjects with other teachers including Physical Education, Visual Arts, Music, and French are interspersed throughout the days at varying times according to the subjects’ teachers’ schedules. These subjects are more often scheduled during Judaic studies in the mornings, however, they each appear once per week in the afternoon. The most challenging part of creating this schedule is ensuring there is enough time to cover all necessary material.



The Classroom
After reading the article, Setting the stage for success: Assessing the instructional environment, by Susan Stewart and William Evans, we were asked to answer some questions.

If you were changing the checklist from Stewart and Evans' article to better reflect the Standards of Practice for teachers in Ontario what would you add or delete from the checklist?

If I was to change the checklist from Stewart and Evans' article to better reflect the Standards of Practice for teachers in Ontario I would not delete anything. Each of the factors listed are valuable in creating an environment conducive to learning and appropriate behaviour.

I would consider adding to the checklist that teachers must be committed to ongoing professional development in order to be well informed of new techniques, technologies and developments in the field that might enhance their classroom environment.

I might also add an element about communication between teachers, parents, students, other teachers, administration, and support staff. The classroom teacher must consider any exceptionalities or special circumstances in maintaining an effective learning environment and must keep the lines of communication open in order to assess any changes or strategies.

If you had to rate the aspects of a classroom environment from most important to least important, what would your list look like and why?

I would create three lists. One list for the first day of school which would include all of the categories included by Stewart and Evans. One list for day-to-day and one list for the end of the week.

My first day of school list would begin with Stewart and Evans' section on Teacher Effectiveness. Most importantly an educator should enjoy what they do. Without enjoyment there is no passion, and without passion there surely cannot be success. I consider Teacher Effectiveness to be the general impression you get from a teacher when you enter the classroom. It is imperative that students not only feel comfortable with their physical space, but with their teacher as well, who is in loco parentis for approximately six hours each weekday.

The next section on my first day of school checklist would be the Physical Environment. Once establishing that the teacher suits the classroom, we must establish that the classroom suits the student.

Following would be the Behaviour Management section, ensuring that each student is aware of the classroom rules and consequences. And lastly would be the Time/Instructional Management Section. On the first day of school, or even the first week, although it is important to establish routine, there is some "give". I feel that it is more important to ensure the student is in an appropriate environment and that he or she is comfortable there and is aware of his or her expectations first.

A day-to-day checklist would not include physical environment. After the first few weeks of school the physical environment should be established, and any changes have become routine. The purpose of this checklist is to ensure that what you have planned for the day is well organized and detailed, and to allow you to make sure you've taken all factors into consideration.

A weekly checklist would be more of a professional assessment and evaluation tool. This checklist would include all categories listed by Stewart and Evans. The order is irrelevant, but it might be helpful to have the Physical Environment section last to ensure that the teacher has tidied up or refreshed classroom displays, desk arrangements, learning centres, etc. The teacher might use this to make notes on how to improve or enhance his or her practice for the following week.

Activity
For the final activity we were asked to design our own classroom space.